Eeeek! The week got away from me and I didn’t get a chance to try Dorie’s recipe for b’stila. So I guess that means I will just have to share my own! I was really looking forward to this week since it is a Moroccan recipe. I’m guessing it would up in the cookbook due to the French connection to Morocco. But this is a Moroccan dish – very unique to the country. Traditionally it is made with pigeon but I’ve been unable to actually get one made of pigeon when I’m visiting.

This is favorite of mine. My sister-in-laws always make sure to have this once or twice when I’m visiting. There’s always tastes the best which I’m sure is part skill and part the right ingredients! This is made with a dough called ourka (work-a) that is a bit thicker than filo dough. You can sometimes pick it up in Middle Eastern markets but if not filo dough works too. This recipe is a bit different than the traditional recipe (esp the chicken – I don’t like dark meat).

Transfer chicken to a bowl or plate and set aside to cool. Let the sauce continue to simmer in the pan and add the beaten eggs, salt, pepper, & sugar. Stir constantly until the eggs are scrambled. Shred the chicken & add it to the egg mixture. Set aside.

Almond mixture:

In a blender or food processor, coarsely grind the almonds and mix w/ sugar & cinnamon. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove 12 sheets of phyllo from the pkg and re wrap the remaining phyllo in its original wrap. Refrigerate for future use.

Stack the 12 sheets on a work surface and cover w/ a damp towel. Spray a little butter on a pizza pan or baking sheet.

Fold over the edges to partially cover the chicken mixture. Layer & butter 3 more sheets over the chicken, sprinkling the remaining almond mixture evenly over the top.

Layer & butter the last 3 sheets of phyllo over the almond mixture. Tuck the edges of the last 6 sheets under the b’stilla as you would a bed sheet (@ this point, I take another baking sheet and place it on top, then flip it over & seal the last 6 sheets of phyllo from bottom to top)

Bake the b’stilla until golden brown (20-25 min).

Place the powdered sugar in a fine-meshed sieve. Tap the sides of the sieve to cover the surface of the b’stilla lightly and; evenly w/ sugar.

Using thumb & forefinger, sprinkle ground cinnamon over the top (most people make patterns, I just lightly dust it). Serve immediately, before pastry becomes soggy.

This is the only picture I have of my bstila! Another reason why I need to make it again so that I can document it better!

**It took me a long time to finally make this b/c I thought it would be a really daunting task. It’s not – it’s a lot of steps, but it’s really easy and didn’t take as long as I thought.

Note: These can be prepared in advance and frozen uncooked in aluminum foil. It will keep up to 2 months in the freezer. No need to thaw before baking, but bake for 10 min extra if frozen.

**This makes about a 10″ pie and easily serves 4 average plates.

I’m determined to make Dorie’s bstila for comparison but in the meantime check out some other posts here.

Ladies – thanks so much for stopping by! I am so happy I decided to do FFWD because I've gotten to find all of your great blogs!! This is one of my very favorite dishes — did you know there is a seafood version too? I'll have to make it soon and let you know!

Amanda! I'm so glad you liked my post! I had actually thought you'd be horrified at my whining about raisins and skipping out on the sugar topping! Thanks lady! Prior to reading yours I'd awarded you a Stylish Blogger Award on my blog. Play along as you like. You rock sista!

I just had to read your post on this one…and you did a great write-up as I knew you would. And I was quite interested in "powdered sugar" but after making this dish nothing surprises me now. It is a great recipe….and your version looks quite interesting too. thanks for sharing.

Dan – many thanks for the tips! I'm in the US but not far from Canada, if I ever find myself visiting I will check out that brand! I have sometimes made mine in a pie plate, off setting each layer of phylo, then filling and folding onto the top.

I'm so glad you stopped by and hope you'll enjoy some of my recipes! If there's a Moroccan dish you're interested in that you don't see – let me know!

That looks so amazing, and commendable that you don't think it's a daunting task. I did it once in a cooking class and I'll probably never attempt it again. I'm not a fan of working with phylo.

The Bistilla I made used a slightly different method for the phylo. The phylo is set off to the side on the bottom of the pan (with large pieces hanging outside of the pan). When the filling is in, the pieces fold onto the top. Even if just for presentation, it's pretty cool.

Enjoyed your recipe. The powdered sugar on top is interesting. I made individual b'stillas and froze two of them so thanks for the tip on freezing and cooking. I see you're an 'American wife in a Moroccan kitchen'. Does that mean you live in Morocco?

1 hour agoby marocmamaVisited the Majorelle Jardin today with my mom. I forgot how peaceful and lovely this garden is. Admission is a little pricy for Marrakech but worth it. Visit early in the morning or later afternoon to avoid crowds. It's best enjoyed when few people are inside. #marrakech #morocco #africa #lovemorocco #travel #garden #instatbn #color #majorelle #blue #mkbpicaday